One of the top players in Kentucky and in recent 16th region history, Carter ends an incredible high school career with another stellar performance. Carter had some huge possessions that included five and four point trips in the second half thanks to and-1 shots. I always leave impressed with Carter’s ability to play through contact and draw fouls, he drew 10 on Friday. As a passer, Carter set his teammates up for open 3-point shots and his teammates shot 8/20 from 3-point range. Congrats to Carter on a great career and he has all the intangibles to be a winning player at the college level for Liberty.

Carter is one of the top players in Kentucky and does an excellent job of hitting defenders first on drives and playing through contact. Such elite balance and control as a driver, Carter makes moves like you’d expect a college guard to make. After a slow shooting first quarter from beyond the arc, Carter quickly found the range and knocked in a handful of key 3-pointers including one late in the third and another in the fourth to help secure the win. Ashland Blazer seems to make a March trip to Rupp arena a yearly tradition and Carter is looking to make one last run at the state title. What impresses me the most about Carter’s gaudy stats are his efficiency numbers from the floor.

Don’t be surprised when Carter makes an immediate impact at Liberty next season. A big, strong shooter with good athleticism, Zander is physically ready to see the court early and often. In a lot of years, Carter would have won Mr. Basketball.

Any other year in Kentucky and Zander is the likely favorite for the award. Averaging 24 points and 6 rebounds per game with splits of 61/49/69 and leading the Tomcats to a record of 13-5 while playing a ridiculously tough schedule, the Liberty signee is having a huge season.

Great players hit you before you hit them and they don’t fall over. Not sure any two skills describe Zander Carter Zander Carter 6'6" | SG Ashland Blazer | 2025 State #296 Nation KY better than that. Carter is an experienced wing who can also run the point guard position and uses his size, strength and balance to be tough to stop at the rim. Carter does an excellent job playing and landing off two feet, which allows him to handle contact, grab offensive rebounds of his own misses and get back quickly on defense. It’s the little skills that sometimes separate the elite players from the really good ones and while Carter does so many obvious things that impact winning, it’s skills like that which make me confident in his ability to succeed at the college level.

Zander is a player who you appreciate the more you see him. There is a level of professionalism with which Carter carries himself on the court. He’s a steal for Liberty.

Zander was voted the MVP of the camp and the best description of his game was was “polished”. Every rep in the combine session was performed like that of a professional. Every possession in the 5 on 5 games was an opportunity to showcase his sky-high basketball IQ and willingness to make plays while never forcing his own offense. Easy to see why Liberty is so excited about Carter’s commitment and his future with the Flames.

Zander is frequently overlooked in the “top 2025s” conversation but he’s a big time scorer and was one of the best players for Kentucky in the Kentucky/Indiana Junior All Star Game in June. He’ll contribute early and often at Liberty once he gets there.

Midwest 3SSB has struggled with injuries this weekend and were down to six healthy bodies on Friday night, that allowed everybody on the roster to get plenty of opportunity to impress. One of a few committed prospects on the team, Carter stood out on Friday evening as a shot-maker from the outside and using his strength in the paint. One of the more experienced players in Kentucky, Carter also talks on defense and moved well without the basketball. One of the early favorites for Mr Basketball, Carter has been committed to Liberty for well over a year now and had his future head coach watching his game on Friday.